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allows me to cover more--and breaking news--to help you do better!

Greenpeace Ranks Tech Giants On Their Data Centre's
Coal Dependency. - [COMMENTARY] "The
report ranks operators of major data centers -- Apple, Facebook,
Google, etc. -- according to a number of factors, including their source
of electricity, i.e. whether the cloud is powered by coal, natural gas,
wind, hydro, or other energy sources."

European Firms Failing In Carbon Emissions Reporting.
- [COMMENTARY] "Less than half of
Europe's top 300 firms are publishing full and verified carbon emission
data, with French and Swiss companies ranking worst at greenhouse gas
reporting, a study showed Tuesday. British financial services company
Aviva placed first in the rankings based on emissions and levels of
disclosure and verification, while Polish mining company KGHM came in
last, according to the non-profit Environmental Investment Organisation
(EIO)."

Much US Corporate Political Spending Undisclosed. -
[COMMENTARY] "Despite mounting calls for greater
transparency, only a few of the country's 75 leading energy, health care
and financial services corporations fully disclose political spending,
according to a review of company records and state and federal campaign
finance reports." What a sham. No wonder the US voting public feels
so
disenfranchised and that the US is declining in stature by almost any
measure. And why ethical investors increasingly consider putting funds
in non-US investments!
Much corporate political spending stays hidden, by Noam N. Levy and
Kim Geiger, April 23, 2011, Kansas City Star, USA.

Bolivia About To Enact A 'Mother Earth' Law. - [COMMENTARY]
"...the law requires the government to transition from non-renewable to
renewable energy; to develop new economic indicators that will assess
the ecological impact of all economic activity; to carry out ecological
audits of all private and state companies; to regulate and reduce
greenhouse gas emissions; to develop policies of food and renewable
energy sovereignty; to research and invest resources in energy
efficiency, ecological practices, and organic agriculture; and to
require all companies and individuals to be accountable for
environmental contamination with a duty to restore damaged
environments.”

Well done Bolivia! This small country might be setting the
standard for all other countries to eventually follow as countries
everywhere realize the full implications of global climate change.
The Law of Mother Earth: Behind Bolivia’s Historic Bill, by Nick
Buxton, April 21, 2011, readersupportnews.com, USA.

UPDATED: Allianz Global Investors' Study Says ESG
Reduces Portfolio Risk. - [COMMENTARY] "The study found the tail risk of an ESG risk neutral emerging market
equity strategy defined by the MSCI Emerging Markets Index can be
reduced from -64.5 p.a. to -38.8 per cent. The same is true for
corporate bonds defined by the Merrill Lynch Global Broad Market
Corporate Index, it added, where the tail risk ‒ measured as conditional
value at risk (95 per cent) of the default strategy ‒ can be reduced
from -8.1 per cent p.a. to -4.9 per cent. ESG risk factors are also
important for core asset classes such as developed market equity."
This is highly useful information. Source document now available.
Click here.
ESG Strategies Improve Efficiency, April 19, 2011, Benefits &
Pensions Monitor, Canada.

SolarWorld Earns Highest Green Score Among Top 10 PV
Makers. - [COMMENTARY] "German PV
maker SolarWorld earned the best environmental grade of the 10 largest
manufacturers in the industry with a score of 91 out of possible 100
points for practices in four categories: recycling, green jobs, toxics
and disclosure. Trina Solar, based in China, followed in second place
with a score of 89. Tying for third place with scores of 87 were two
firms among the top 10 largest, REC of Norway and First Solar of the
U.S., and another U.S. firm, Abound Solar." Most investors are
unaware that the making of PVs can be quite environmentally unfriendly.
So if you're an ethical investor interested in this sector, you might
want to read this article.
SolarWorld Earns Highest Green Score Among Top 10 PV Makers, by
Leslie Guevarra, April 12, 2011, GreenBiz, USA.

World’s First Halal Food Index. -
[COMMENTARY] "The halal food industry has now become
an asset class within the investment community with the launch of the
world’s first halal food indices, called SAMI (Socially Acceptably
Market Investments) Halal Food Index and SAMI Halal Participation
Index... The SAMI Halal Food Index comprises 200 companies listed in
Muslim-majority countries with a total market capitalisation of over
$100b. Of the 200 companies in the index, almost half (95) are Malaysian
with market capitalisation of $53b, while others are from Saudi Arabia,
Turkey, Indonesia and Nigeria."

With the huge economic growth of the Mid East and Asia,
western ethical investors will want to keep an eye open to possible new
and unusual ethical investing opportunities.
World’s first halal food index, April 13, 2011, Emirates24/7, UAE.

Unilever, General Electric, Interface, Wal-Mart And
Marks & Spencer, Top SustainAbility's 2011 Sustainable Leaders List. - [COMMENTARY] "Some 559 sustainability
experts from corporations, government, non-government organizations,
academia and entities that provide services, such as consultancies,
participated in the online survey last month that focused on perceptions
of sustainability leadership... conducted by research firm GlobeScan
Incorporated and SustainAbility Ltd."
One useful study would be to see if there is any correlation between
SustainAbility's rankings and their relative stock market performances.
Nonetheless, it is an interesting survey to review.
Unilever Tops List of Sustainability Leaders, by Leslie Guevarra,
April 11, 2011, GreenBiz, USA.

Bloomberg Markets Magazine Ranks World's Greenest Banks. - [COMMENTARY] "Banco Santander,
Spain’s biggest bank, got the first place... Goldman Sachs took the
second place and Italy-based holding company UniCredit ranked third."
Unfortunately, for the entire list and commentary a subscription to
the magazine is required.
World’s top 10 greenest banks ranked, by Jen Balboa, April 7, 2011,
EcoSeed, USA.

One-Third Of UK Wealthy Interested In Social
Investment, Says Nesta. - [COMMENTARY] "The research... quizzed 505 people with investment assets ranging
from £50,000 to £1m on their interest in social investment... Those
under 40 years of age were more likely than those over 55 to be
receptive to social or ethical investments. The research also found that
when considering making social investments, two-thirds (67 per cent) of
wealthy individuals are likely to invest in a financial product that
benefits society as well as giving a comparable return on their money."

New Proxy Monitor Site. -
[COMMENTARY] "ProxyMonitor.org—shedding light on
shareholder proposals submitted to publicly traded corporations via the
annual proxy process. This site is sponsored by the Center for Legal
Policy, part of the non-partisan and non-profit Manhattan Institute for
Policy Research."

This is another useful
site whereby ethical investors can research to see the results of
environmental, social and governance initiatives among the world's
largest companies.ProxyMonitor.org, USA.

FTSE4Good Launches Corporate ESG Ratings.
- [COMMENTARY] "A decade after the launch of the
FTSE4Good Index Series, FTSE Group has launched a new FTSE4Good ratings
system that is designed to measure environmental, social and governance
(ESG) factors. FTSE Group claimed this new data service provides a
comprehensive, transparent and objective system to measure ESG practices
of over 2,300 public companies worldwide." FTSE4Good is likely to be
a formidable competitor in this space. However, it's good for ethical
investors!
FTSE4Good launches corporate ESG ratings, by Donia O'Loughlin, April
6, 2011, FT Advisor, UK.

Note: Articles are linked to the
original source. Some sites may require registration, and may, or may not,
archive stories. All links were active at the time of
publication.

Disclaimer:Neither The Soul Investor nor Ron
Robins make investment recommendations. Nothing in this newsletter should
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information and resources for spiritual investing, ethical investing, and
socially responsible investing (SRI). Investors should consider their
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